Margaretville’s annual celebration of agriculture and rural life takes place Sat., Sept. 23 when the 19th Cauliflower Festival enlivens the Village Park with food, music, farm products and fun for all ages – including the first-ever Festival Cornhole Tournament!
A signature event on the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway, the festival is sponsored by the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce. It runs from 11 to 4. Admission is free.
From the early 20th century through the 1950’s farmers and businesses throughout the Catskills relied heavily on cauliflower harvests to support the local economy. The region’s climate and mineral-rich soils produced high quality cauliflower which was prized at markets in New York City and beyond. It is no longer grown commercially here, but the festival celebrates this important part of the region’s agricultural heritage.
Exhibits at the Historical Society of Middletown’s History Tent outline this unique history. This year there will also be a display on “The Builders” who erected many of the homes, hotels and commercial structures in the area more than a century ago.
Tractors, antique and modern, will parade around the Village Park around 11:30am. Vehicles participating in the Catskill Conquest rally of antique and contemporary vehicles will also stop for a short visit as they travel along the Scenic Byway to mark the 120th anniversary of an epic endurance automobile run held in 1903.
There will be crafts for kids hosted by the Pine Hill Community Center and the Catskill Mountain Christian Center, and face painting by the Margaretville Central School Art Club. The Catskill Mountain Quilters Guild will show off their stitching skills and Pak’s Karate students will impress with their martial arts prowess.
Local farmers will have products ranging from maple syrup to cheese, jams to essential oils for sale in the Pure Catskills tent, where you might meet some friendly farm animals. Of course there will be fresh cauliflower for visitors to purchase.
New to the festival this year is the first ever Cauliflower Festival Cornhole Tournament. Open to both adults and youth, there will be blind draw, singles and pick your partner contests with 100% payout and trophies. Try your luck in a raffle to win a brand new professional cornhole set!
Performing from noon to 3 is a Pine Hill based band called The Pops. Featuring Jim Rauter, Jeff Entin, Chris Sterns, George Quinn, and Wayne Ford, they’ll play a mixture of blues, classic rock, and country swing.
At the food court, guests can enjoy dishes – some of them featuring cauliflower! — such as Ruta Del Sol’s Ecuadorian fare, Bella Chow, Catskills Embers wood-fired pizza, Kimchi Harvest Kitchen’s bulgogi and a chicken bar-b-que supporting the Margaretville Central School’s girls’ soccer team. The Beer Engine, an antique fire engine outfitted with taps, will be on hand serving up local beers and hard cider.
Exhibitors include the Catskills Water Discovery Center, the Catskill Recreation Center, Heart of the Catskills Humane Society and many other local organizations who will offer resources on topics ranging from literacy to aging to energy and the environment.
Dozens of vendors will sell soaps and lotions, woodcrafts, handmade furniture, local spirits, books, gems and minerals, pottery and more.
For more information on the festival visit margaretvillecauliflowerfestival.org and check out the Margaretville Cauliflower Festival Facebook page for vendor and event highlights.
This event is funded in part by Pure Catskills Buy Local campaign, an economic initiative of the Watershed Agricultural Council with funding from NYC DEP, USFS and others. Support also comes from the Delaware County Tourism Bed Tax Grant Program through the Delaware County Economic Development Office.